11 years after their classic debut, WASTE MANAGEMENT return with their first ever full-length offering. An expanded version of their original vision, still indebted to nothing more or less than classic hardcore. 11 blasts of power “the old way”.

Our take: Long-awaited debut full-length from this Boston band. You’ll recognize the personnel from many Boston-based projects over the years, but Waste Management stands on its own within that complicated family tree of bands. To me, they sound like a mash-up of classic Boston hardcore like Last Rights or SSD (or maybe more recent bands in that style like Wasted Time) and blistering fast Japanese hardcore, Gauze in particular. The nods to the former style (and its progeny, late 80s straight edge hardcore) are more obvious: the cover drawing, the back cover layout, and the big mosh parts that pepper the LP. However, the bass player is wearing a No Side shirt on the back cover, the insert collage reminds me of the the back cover of Fuck Heads, and the whiplash changes on tracks like “Face the Fire” find the band dangerously close to replicating Gauze’s trademark speed and precision. The vocals remain a love it or hate it proposition, and whether you consider them an acquired taste or a dealbreaker will probably dictate your feelings on this LP. Tried and True stands confidently alongside records by other scene defining bands like Boston Strangler and No Tolerance, so if you’ve been following the contemporary Boston hardcore scene you’ll want to hear this.